Previous public offices you've sought/held: Tempe Union High School District governing board. Previously, state Senator and Minority Leader, state Representative; unsuccessfully sought U.S. Congressional seat, District 9.

Robin Arredondo-Savage speaks with a visitor at the meet and greet. On Thursday, July 17, candidates running for Tempe City Council gathered at Casey Moore's Oyster House in Tempe for a meet and greet the candidates.(Photo: Karla Towle/The Republic)

Story Highlights

Robin Arredondo-Savage is among seven candidates for Tempe City Council

Arredondo-Savage pushed for a Tempe military-resources website for veterans

Standing on her Tempe front lawn on a sweltering summer day, Robin Arredondo-Savage watches her dad work on the perfect way to display recycled campaign signs from her 2010 run.

Three signs, fixed to one stake and stacked vertically, are much better than one, obviously.

Arredondo-Savage does not argue. She smiles. She's respectful.

"It's my dad's idea," she said, chuckling and clearly getting a kick out of her father's precise handiwork. "He always says, 'If you're going to do it, do it right the first time.' "

Arredondo-Savage, who works at her family's Tempe insurance business, is running for one of the three open City Council seats. Her opponents are Matt Papke, Lauren Kuby, Ernesto Fonseca, Dick Foreman, David Schapira and Shana Ellis.

Arredondo-Savage recalls an early lesson on the value of work and education from her grandmother, a Mexican immigrant who worked in the fields and at a Tempe school cafeteria to support her children so they could build a better life. Arredondo-Savage said Josefa Arredondo was known for taking her kids and her grandchildren to the cotton fields for a lecture.

"She'd tell us, 'See that field? That's where you're going to work if you don't go to school,'" she said.

Arredondo-Savage, 46, did go to school. The fourth-generation Tempe native graduated from Arizona State University and later joined the Army. She married a fellow veteran who is now a Chandler firefighter. They have two sons and live in a house near where she grew up.

"Tempe is my home. I have always been and will always be totally committed to making sure it's the best place to live, learn and visit," she said.

Arredondo-Savage talks a lot about her hometown and her focus on safe, strong neighborhoods. She reminds voters of her commitment to education after serving eight years on the Tempe Union High School District governing board. She spotlights her past position as chairwoman of the Tempe Chamber of Commerce, saying the experience sharpened the business know-how she now relies on when mapping ways to grow Tempe's economy.

Arredondo-Savage is not shy about her leadership in Tempe, but she remains quiet about her service in the Army, preferring to talk about what can be done for other veterans. She was a driving force behind Tempe building a military-resource website last year.

"I want the city of Tempe to be able to walk the talk and say we support veterans in every possible way we can," she said last summer when the site was created.

Today, she calls the culling of information on military benefits, city counseling services and other resources, one of her proudest accomplishments while serving her first term after being elected in 2010.

But one year after the site was created, it remains sparse. Arredondo-Savage said additional support for veterans is among the issues she wants to continue to work on if elected to a second term.

As an incumbent, Arredondo-Savage is credited with city successes but she also faces criticism for actions that drew residents' ire amid concern that the council was ignoring the will of some Tempe voters.

For example, Arredondo-Savage took heat for supporting the council shifting bond funding for parks to the replacement of the failed Town Lake dam. She withstood complaints when she supported a three-year ban on televising residents' public comments, a time for people to air their concerns during City Council meetings. She reversed her position in March when the council chose to reinstate televised public comments.

She said she has served at a time when Tempe had to make difficult decisions, the toughest being cuts to operate on a lean budget. She wants to keep Tempe on a stable financial course. But now that revenue is rebounding, she supports the city reinvesting in parks and forming a citizens committee to gather input on funding for community services.

"We're in a really good position and that's not by accident," she said. "We made some really good decisions. Still, I think there's a lot of work to be done. I want to be able to follow through on some of the things we've been working on."

Important election dates

July 28: Last day to register to vote in the Aug. 26 primary election.